Sandbox Love
by GoSpeedsterOrGoHome
Summary: It all started in the Sandbox. teeny!ColiNeedy, kid fic.


****_Author's note: These are on my computer, so I'm just going to upload them. This particular fic was a gift to a friend. Here goes nothing :D_

* * *

**Sandbox Love**

Colin likes playing in the sandbox. He has his own little corner, and the other kids leave him alone. He doesn't mind playing alone. He'd rather be by himself than play with kids who pushed him, like Jonas and Roman. He didn't want to play with kids who whispered mean things about him either. Not that he was really alone. His parents said that he had God, but God didn't seem to be very good at building sand castles without a bucket or a shovel, so he thought they were lying to him to make him feel better. He acted like he was okay with being alone, and that he really didn't like anyone, so it didn't matter whether he was alone or not.

He liked Anita though.

He liked Anita a lot.

He didn't think she had cooties, like the other boys did (Besides, cooties were visible. Teacher said so), and he liked her blonde hair and her blue eyes and her smile.

She was nice. Nice to him. That was a lot of why he liked her.

He was alone again, trying to build a sandcastle without a bucket or a shovel. Sometimes, he'd look up to watch Anita, playing pretend on her own, or with a friend, but he'd look away before too long. He didn't want her to be afraid of him like the other girls in their class seemed to be.

Jonas stomps over then, kicking over the progress that Colin made on what was _supposed_ to be a tower. Colin doesn't respond to him, just goes back to trying to rebuild. The bigger boy stomps on the wet sand again, and Colin's hand this time too. Colin's eyes fill with pained tears and Jonas grins triumphantly until a smaller body collides with his, pushing him back far enough that he trips over the edge of the sandbox and falls onto his back.

"Y-you leave him alone!" Anita yells at Jonas, fists clenched decisively on her hips.

The bigger boy got up, his face flushed like he was going to cry. Or yell. Colin wasn't sure, but he'd like to see him cry.

"Why? He's weird!"

Anita huffs, crossing her arms. "I like Colin! He's diff'rent… and nice." Her words are sharp and it's clear she isn't going to change her mind.

"Well if you like him so much, why don't you marry him then?" Jonas snaps, pleased with his comeback.

"Maybe I will!"Anita replies. This obviously isn't the answer that Jonas wants, and he shoves her down into the sand, stomping off to join the other children. Anita turns to Colin once she's sure that the other boy won't come back

"A-are you okay?"

Colin nods nervously. He has this funny feeling in his belly button, and his face feels hot, and he never thought she'd actually come over and talk with him.

"Good." She smiles brightly, and the feeling in his belly gets a little bit weirder as she scoots so she's sitting across from him and starts rebuilding his tower.

"What are you…" he trails off as she looks up, confused.

"Is it not okay for me to play with you?" Anita asks, cocking her head to the side.

Colin shrugs sheepishly. "Iunno… Nobody plays with me ever."

She smiles brightly at him. "I'll play with you, Pinkie Promise!"

She extends her pinkie and he links his with hers.

And she does play with him. Every day. Until Jennifer comes along.

Suddenly, Anita is the whipping-boy friend, and everyone calls her Needy. Her nickname is even derogatory, and _he _uses it, and he feels guilty about it all the time.

When he hears about the fire, and that she was _there_, his first instinct is to go make sure that she's okay. Except that her boyfriend –he shudders to think- is there, and that makes things awkward.

Short words are exchanged, and as he walks away, he hears:

_Since when are you friends with Colin Gray? I thought Colin only talked to the Dead Girls._

_**I just am. We have Creative Non-fiction together.**_

I just am. We share a class.

He can accept that. It's a lot easier than telling Chip about their first kiss in the sandbox, or how they got pretend married in, like, 6th grade.

Or how Needy still looked at him like she had a crush when she thought nobody was paying attention to her.

But Colin was. He always was.

Sandbox love never dies, you know.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed! If you feel so inclined, reviews would be appreciated! :)_


End file.
